Sunday, December 29, 2013

Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas from Mars!

2013 was a warm & bright holiday here. We had a festive display of homemade decorations, and gifts sent from far away family members, guarded by a fierce hound:



We had a lovely arrangement of holiday cards, also guarded by said hound (when she wasn't distracted by these new toys from Mama & Papa O'Brien):



Or this new toy from my coworkers in London:



Even Sergeant Pickles got into the act, decorating the Mars Animal Control office:



On Christmas Day, our festivities began at 9am, with Brian bringing over his famous Christmas cherry rugelach:



And his famous Christmas strata (basically a casserole of eggs, cheese, bread, & spinach) & bacon:



It was horrible, as usual:


Over breakfast, we started the day's movie marathon. This year, we chose a Christmas classic:



After the first movie was over, we got to work in the kitchen making dinner. I made my infamous Atomic Ginger Beer, & put it in these heavy duty (& gorgeous) growlers Mama O'Brien gave me for my birthday:



As always, Pickles was on hand to help keep the floor clear of any particles of food that might fall:



The Christmas cioppino (San Francisco's own fish stew) turned out excellent, as always:



As did the Christmas Burnt Ricotta Pie, with Brian's expertly crafted pastry:



And perfect scorched-earth look (yes, this is what it's supposed to look like):



And then the next day, we took Pickles out to the ocean, for some fresh air & romping:




All in all, a wonderful & relaxing couple of days!

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